Gov. Paterson considers appointing lieutenant governor

Hans Pennink / The Associated Press New York state Sens. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville (left), and Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton wait Sunday for the start of a session of the New York State Senate at the Capitol in Albany. The Senate met briefly and passed no legislation.

ALBANY, NY (AP) -- As New York's Senate standoff began its fifth week, Gov. David Paterson said he's considering appointing a lieutenant governor to preside over the session while senators tried to blunt rising public disdain by promising a power-sharing deal after weeks of name-calling and political plotting.

One senator asserted on the Senate floor that the gridlocked chamber remains "one of the most distinguished bodies in the country."

But the cheery sound bites were belied in a moment when Democratic leader Malcolm Smith of Queens was laughing and shaking hands on the Republican side, until he got to Republican Sen. Frank Padavan of Queens.

A week ago, Smith's Democrats had declared Padavan present, despite his protest, to create a necessary quorum in the Democrat-run session. They counted Padavan in attendance when he walked through the chamber to get a cup coffee because the hallway was blocked by Democratic staffers.

Meanwhile, Sen. Darrel Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, filed a lawsuit Monday in state Supreme Court to try to force the chamber into delivering bills Senate Democrats passed June 30 to the governor. "Under the rules of the Senate, our votes count," Aubertine said. "The Assembly does not have the constitutional authority to say otherwise."

Aubertine's lawsuit argues that the Assembly has no authority to withhold the bills from Gov. David Paterson, who also has the power to veto them. "These bills must be delivered to the governor," Aubertine said. "Further delay by the Assembly puts jobs, our school districts and the state's taxpayers at risk."

Yet both sides said they are near a power-sharing deal first promised after a private meeting with the Democratic governor last week.

But Paterson now says he'll consider any new idea to end the conflict in the Senate split 31-31, including one a Democratic assemblyman and two good-government groups proposed Monday.

Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, Common Cause-NY, Citizens Union and some legal scholars say provisions of the state constitution and Public Officers Law could be interpreted as giving the governor the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor to preside over the Senate, vote to break ties, and potentially resolve the leadership dispute.

That would give Paterson the power to put the Senate back in Democratic control.

"We came upon something that apparently was right under our noses the whole time," said Gianaris, of Queens, who is considered a likely candidate for attorney general next year.

"It's a publicity stunt for Gianaris," said Republican Sen. George Winner of Elmira. He said the idea that the lieutenant governor could be appointed in the same way as menial public employee "like the Big Flats dog catcher is beyond the pale of preposterous."

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who hasn't yet weighed in on the Senate standoff, quickly deemed the proposal unconstitutional.

New York has been without a lieutenant governor since Paterson rose from the position to become governor in March 2008 after Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace. Cuomo defended the long-held belief that a vacant lieutenant governor's post can only be filled in the following election for governor and lieutenant governor.

"We believe it would not provide long-term political stability, but rather the opposite, by involving the governor in a political ploy that would wind through the courts for many months," said Cuomo, widely seen as a likely candidate for governor in 2010.

Paterson, however, continues to review the proposal.

Another Democrat, Sen. Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan, immediately tried to keep the idea alive. "It's a serious proposal," Schneiderman said. He said the crisis of the rare 31-31 split raised the idea, and it is worthy of consideration.

Back in the chamber, the Senate again met for less than five minutes in one of the daily special sessions Paterson has ordered to force votes on critical legislation. No action was taken.

The coalition's elected Senate president, Democratic Sen. Pedro Espada of the Bronx, downplayed a lunch he had Monday with the one-time dissident Democratic senators Ruben Diaz of the Bronx, Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn and Hiram Monserrate of Queens. Since the November elections when Democrats won a narrow majority, each has considered flipping in power plays. But Espada said none talked of changing allegiance.

"Folks understand that where I'm at is where I'm going to stay," Espada said. "I will not step back from that."

-- The Associated Press and staff writer Delen Goldberg contributed to this report.